All I Need Now
by CompleteFictionFanatic
Summary: Tragedy Strikes and Casey and Derek end up in a world of sadness and desperation where the only comfort is found in each other and in Marti. Dasey
1. Casey and Derek's Friday

Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

Casey looked at her alarm clock. It was eight a.m. Something felt bad – really bad. She checked her cell phone to see if it was the Saturday prank again and maybe her clock had been set wrong on purpose, but it was just a Friday morning.

She found out what felt funny as soon as she tried to sit up. Her legs were tied to the ends of the bed with two pieces of cloth.

Meanwhile, Derek was smirking and counted the seconds until he heard, "De-rek!"

As soon as she managed to get herself untied, she ran downstairs, tripping down the last few and Derek couldn't hold his laughter in. This only made things worse for Derek's situation as Casey grabbed the cordless phone and threw it at his head.

"You stupid jerk," she told him as she glared.

Derek waited for her to get ready so that he could drive her to school as usual. The drive was silent, but he could feel her giving him death glares from the passenger seat. As soon as they arrived, she got out of the car and slammed the car door. He saw her storming through the school doors.

"What did Derek do this morning?" Emily asked as she noticed her best friend's usual morning foul mood. Casey told her what he had done, including every single detail and exaggerating, being the drama queen she was.

When she went to Paul, she told him that this was definitely the last straw. Paul couldn't help but laugh.

"Casey, you always say that it's the last straw," he told her, "But you know that you will never be able to handle Derek."

She sat down looking defeated, "I know." Her blue eyes shot down to Paul's desk as she played around with a piece of paper which he had on the desk.

After lunchtime, Casey went to her locker as usual. She heard a familiar scream of rage. She looked to her right and saw Tinker, soaked with orange soda. Just at that moment, she felt something in her hand and looked at it. It was an empty plastic bottle of orange soda. She looked back and saw Derek smirking at the end of the corridor. Before she knew it, the principal arrived at the scene.

"Casey McDonald, my office...now!"

"But, I-"

"No buts!" he said, "Follow me. NOW!"

Casey followed him. Derek had struck again, and she knew he would be winning…as he always did of course. He was the king of pranks but he rarely got in trouble for it.

The principal asked Casey why she would do something like that to Tinker.

"But you don't understand sir! I didn't do it. I would never do something so horrible to anyone – not even to the worst guy or girl on Earth, let alone to Tinker!"

"How am I supposed to believe you, when you were holding that bottle in your hand?"

"I don't know, but I know that someone shoved that bottle into my hand."

"Detention," he told her, "Here's a note."

As he was writing the note, the door open and Derek barged in.

"Hello Mr.Venturi. Care to knock?" he asked him.

Casey glared at Derek.

"Um, sir, Casey didn't do it. I admit. I did it and I shoved the bottle into her hand."

"_That_ I can believe," the principal said, "Fine. Derek – detention. Casey you're not in detention anymore."

"If you wouldn't mind, I would still like to stay. I mean, I don't have a ride home anyway and I could wait for Derek and do my homework during the detention hour."

"Fine, then I'll write you permission slip to stay after school," The principal told her.

Casey couldn't believe she was doing this. She was actually staying for detention because Derek had stood up for her.

Detention arrived, and Casey went to class. It was only Derek and her. Derek was sitting at the far back and she sat somewhere in the middle. She took out her history textbook and some sheets to write on She really needed to get that essay started.

She could hear Derek fidgeting from the back of the class. After about five minutes, she had only written the introduction and that was when she heard Derek pick up all of his stuff and make his way towards her. He threw his stuff on the table next to hers.

"I need your help Case," he said.

"How come?" she asked him.

"I-I've done my history essay, but I have some problems with the sentences and the spelling."

She could see him blush.

"Want me to check it for you?" she asked.

"Would you do that?" he asked her.

She took the essay from his hands and looked at it. She found a number of mistakes which she corrected in pencil and then she took one of her own blank sheets and wrote some simple grammatical rules which seemed to trouble him.

"These will help you every time you have some problems with grammar," she told him.  
"Hey, thanks…" he replied.

"Am I crazy or did Derek Venturi just thank me?"

"Yes and yes," he replied.

She hit him playfully on his arm for telling her that she was crazy and then she returned to her essay.

After having finished half of it she noticed him staring at her. He was sitting with his arms folded on the table and his head on top of them. As their eyes locked, his shot down to the table.

Casey felt herself blushing but she didn't know why.

She only had her conclusion to write, when a janitor came to the class and told them that it was time for them to leave.

As they were packing their things, Derek said, "Hey Space case, thanks for staying for detention."

"Oh my gosh," Casey replied.

"What?" he asked as he looked at her widened eyes.

"The others are going on their trip today!! They're leaving in half an hour!"

They ran to the car and he drove as fast as he could without exceeding the limit. When they arrived, they barged in through the door.

They had asked not to go on this family trip to George's mum's house for the weekend because Derek was invited to the greatest party of the year and Casey had promised Emily that they would work on their science project as hard as they could that weekend because they only had a week left until their presentation. George and Nora had agreed but they had made Casey and Derek promise to stay out of each other's way or at least to get along as well as they could. Casey and Derek had agreed even though they knew it was far from what would really happen.

"Casey! Derek! Where have you been?" Nora asked.

"I was in detention and Casey stayed because she needed a ride."

"Look, Marti's sick with fever and we need you two to watch her."

"That's ok. Emily and I will work here for the project and so Marti won't have to be alone," Casey told her mother.

It was time for George, Nora, Lizzie and Edwin to leave. Casey hugged all of them and Derek gave Edwin a noogie. As soon as they left, Derek went up to check on Marti. She was in bed drawing something on a piece of blank paper.

"What's that Smarti?" he asked her.

"It's you and Casey and me and Edwin and Lizzie," she replied.

He kissed her on top of her hair and then went back downstairs. Casey was sitting on the couch with her jeans rolled up and she seemed to be examining something on her lower shin. He sat down next to her.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied.

He looked at her leg. There was a round bruise.

"What's that?"

"It's the bruise from having the cloth tied around my leg too long," Casey told him.

"I'm really sorry Casey," he said. She looked him in the eyes and she saw sincerity. For a moment she felt her heart melt and there was a connection but then he tore his eyes away from her and switched on the TV as she went to the bathroom to apply something to the bruise.

After finishing her history essay and her chemistry assignment, Casey called Emily to check whether it was ok to work at her house instead of Emily's because of Marti. Derek ordered some pizza and Casey and him ate together while they saved some to take upstairs to Marti. Although she didn't feel hungry, Derek fed her the pizza and she ate it without complaining.

Derek and Casey watched a movie. She was sitting on the couch as usual and he was sitting in his chair. This was something which only happened every once in a while – they rarely agreed on movies. Casey felt her eyes flutter open. She looked to her left. Derek was sleeping in his chair. They had both fallen asleep during the movie, apparently.

Casey nudged Derek and asked him to check what time it was. He said it was one am. They went up to their rooms and for the first time in their lives said a regular, civil, 'good night' to each other.


	2. Tragedy Strikes

Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

The following morning, Casey woke up at eight as usual and she went to check on Marti. Her fever had gone down but Casey wanted her to stay in bed. As the little one was still asleep, Casey went downstairs to have some cereal. She found Derek downstairs already. He was having some of his own cereal and he barely acknowledged her.

"No good morning?" she asked, "I thought we had reached a sort of truce yesterday."

"Derek Venturi doesn't do truces," he replied with a smirk on his face.

She huffed and poured some milk into her cereal. As she was eating, she felt his eyes on her and immediately looked up to check whether she was feeling right and she indeed was.

"No Case, you were right. We can't fight. At least not this weekend." With that, he stood up and went to his usual spot – the TV area.

Casey smiled secretly to herself and then she landed a fist on the breakfast counter. This couldn't happen. She could _not_ allow her stupid feelings to control her brain. She just could _not_ allow herself to believe that she had indeed fallen for the great jerk of a step-brother she had. She couldn't have – he was stubborn, jerkish, a prankster, and he was _Derek_. So what if he was cute and had the-cutest-brown-eyes-ever? He was still _Derek_. Casey was startled by the sound of Marti running down the stairs.

"I want to watch TV with Smerek," she said. She went to the living room and sat on top of her older brother whom Casey still found annoying despite the way her heart started beating louder lately whenever he was near – lately denoting since the previous day. Nine a.m. was when the doorbell rang. Casey went to open the door and was shocked by what she saw outside. It was a police officer.

"Derek, could you please come out?" she asked.

"What do you want? Is it Sam?"

"No, it's not Sam. Just come out." Derek grunted and placed Marti on the couch as he walked out of the door. The colour drained from his face when he spotted the police officer who happened to have a very grim expression on his face.

"Is this the Venturi-McDonald household?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," Derek replied.

"Sir…ma'am…I'm sorry to inform you, but…"

Five minutes later, Casey was crying and Derek was holding her to stop the tears but he couldn't even control his own emotions. He didn't do tears; he didn't cry, but not this time. This time he couldn't hold back.

"Mum and Lizzie and George…dead," she told him between sobs.

"I know…" he replied.

He led Casey inside and Marti looked at them. They were both crying. How would they tell a six-year-old that her dad, her stepmother and her stepsister were dead, and that her brother was in hospital in a coma? They were both sixteen and they couldn't even handle it, let alone a six-year-old. This could scar her for life.

Derek let go of Casey and she ran up to her room. It had felt awkward being in has arms – they had never been that physically close before. It felt odd and unsiblingish. Casey didn't care. It was the least of her worries now. She had lost her mother and her sister and she had lost her stepfather too whom she had grown to love. And Edwin was in a coma.

That evening, the Venturis and McDonalds made the news. It was depressing for both Casey and Derek but they made sure that Marti was in her room during the news. They couldn't tell her right now.

Casey cried all throughout the news. She couldn't hold her tears back. She would never get over it. _NEVER. _Derek was upset. His eyes looked blank. There was no chance that they would light up now. He had lost most of his family. What could he do now? They were gone. How could this happen to him? He had never even had the chance to say goodbye or to tell them that he real did love them all, even if they sometimes got on his nerves. Casey didn't know how lucky she was – they all had known how much Casey loved them, but not how much Derek did.

Emily sent Casey a text message to tell her how sorry she was and that if Casey needed anything she must call her. Sam and Ralph sent similar texts to Derek. Derek and Casey decided that they had to go to the hospital to see Edwin so Casey asked Emily to go over and watch Marti while making sure to let Emily know that Marti must _not_ get to know about anything.

The sight of Edwin attached to a million machines set Casey crying again and Derek followed suit. He was depressed now. He was in such a state. They had to save Edwin in some way or another. He couldn't let his brother die – the brother he loved so much. He knew how bad Casey felt now. He was depressed, but Casey must have been much more depressed as she had lost both her mother and the sister she had loved and would love forever.

They left the hospital at about midnight. The drive home was extremely quiet. Derek covered Casey's hand with his.

"We'll get through this Case. I know it's hard. It's hard for me too. I've lost the people I love too, but we have to work hard to save what we have left."

Casey looked at Derek. Her blue eyes were filled with sadness.

"Case, I promise you, I won't let anything bad happen to you – ever," he told her, "I promise."

"We'll never get through this Derek," she said timidly, "because they'll never come back."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Case," he said.

She didn't even ask him what he wanted. She just looked out of the window at the trees. They arrived to their empty home soon. Casey called Dennis the following morning to tell him about her mother and Lizzie and Derek called Abby to tell her about George and Edwin. Casey couldn't bear to make funeral arrangements and neither could Derek. Even the image of the car wreck underneath that truck which they had seen on the news was haunting them. Dennis and Abby were going to handle all the funeral arrangements. Dennis had gone crazy on hearing the news of his ex-wife and his younger daughter's death and Abby had had no different reaction when she heard of her ex-husband's death and her middle son's comatose condition. They would both be arriving in London, Canada the following morning. Derek and Casey had agreed that they didn't want to go live with their parents (Casey with Dennis and Derek and Marti with Abby). They had become each other's family and now they didn't want to leave each other.

Although Casey and Derek had never got along well, they didn't want to part. They had become a huge part of each other's life and they both knew that they needed each other during this rough patch. They just couldn't let each other down. Derek decided that they had to tell Marti. Casey constructed a simple explanation which wouldn't be as hurtful to Marti as being straightforward with her. So Casey and Derek made their way to Marti's room to reveal to her the horrible truth of her lost family.

The three of them ended up crying in each other's arms. That was when Derek promised another special girl that he would never let anything happen to her. But this time he said it in a brotherly manner.


	3. Close to Losing You

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Neither Casey nor Derek wanted to remember the funeral. It had been horrible, especially looking at Lizzie's small coffin. Derek couldn't help but wonder whether Edwin would be joining them in the graveyard soon, but he quickly pushed the thought away from his mind. Marti couldn't stop crying and neither could Casey. Derek cried silently for a while too. It felt weird entering home with Dennis and Abby instead of Nora and George.

Dennis wanted Casey to go to New York with him, and Abby wanted to take Marti and Derek with her. Casey and Derek refused and decided that they wanted to stay at home together and with Marti. Dennis and Abby didn't really encourage the idea, but they too realised that the teens and the little girl needed each other and that they needed to be together. They knew that they had become very close through this accident and they couldn't separate them from each other. So they finally allowed Casey and Derek to stay with Marti and promised that they would visit them on alternating fortnights so that they could check up on them. Casey and Derek had no troubles with agreeing to these arrangements.

After their parents had left their house, Casey and Derek, took Marti to her room to play but she was clearly not in the mood for playing. Casey gave her some of her washing products so that she could mix as much as she wanted to, but as they left her room, Marti sat on the bed and fidgeted with her blanket while tears found their way down her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Casey and Derek sat down on the couch staring blankly at the wall. They turned to face each other.

"You realise that we have to take care of Marti really well now, don't you?" she asked him.

"As if she were our own," he told her. This phrase set her heart beating faster and she felt a warm blush crawling up her neck to her cheeks. Derek smiled a soft, genuine smile at her.

"What I regret the most is that dad, Nora and Lizzie never knew how much I really loved them. I never told them," he said.

"They knew Derek," Casey replied, "At least Lizzie knew. She told me a lot of times that you love us even though you pick on me, and argue with mum sometimes."

Casey went to her room to look at some pictures of her family as it had been before the previous Saturday. It was now Tuesday and they still hadn't gone to school. They had a special permission to stay off school. Casey had started sinking into a deep depression ever since her family's deaths. Anything she read which had to do with her family or with death made her sad and set her crying.

Derek had started having foul moods as well. He sometimes snapped at anyone who mentioned something related to his family and Casey and himself spent a lot of time near Edwin. During these times spent at hospital, they got Emily to watch Marti.

That afternoon, Derek was extra grumpy. They arrived at hospital and went to Edwin's room, where he knelt down next to his brother's bed. Casey sat down in an armchair next to the bed. The doctor came to talk to them to tell them that no changes had been observed. Casey sat down again. When she looked at the clock after a while, she saw that it was eleven p.m.

"Derek, don't you think it's better if we start heading home?"

"Stop talking!" he said. "You know what? You want me to be honest? You want me to be _honest_? Well let me be honest then!! I wish you never came into my life, because if you hadn't come, dad wouldn't have had to introduce your family to my grandma and that way nobody would be dead and Ed wouldn't be here!!" Casey's eyes filled up with tears.

She ran out of the room and out of the hospital and caught the first bus that passed by. As soon as she arrived home, she told Emily that it was fine if she wanted to go home. Emily left and Casey went to the kitchen and started crying hard.

"Even Derek doesn't want me," she said, "What am I doing here? It was all my fault that they died. Derek was right." Her depression didn't help her. She had made her decision. She didn't mean anything to anyone now, except maybe her dad, but he wasn't even there. She didn't mean anything to Derek. Maybe something to Marti, but her mum and her sister were dead. Maybe she should join them.

Casey opened the kitchen drawer and looked at one of the sharpest knives that they had. She was crying so hard that her hand trembled as she picked the knife up from the drawer. Casey decided that she should at least leave Derek and Marti a small note, so she grabbed the nearest pen and the nearest piece of paper and wrote:

_Dearest Derek, _

_I'm sorry I had to leave you, but I guess I'm doing you a favour. You wished me out of your life and I'm granting you your wish. Tell Marti I love her like a sister, and Derek I love you, but not like a brother. I just love you. Goodbye._

_Love, Casey. _

She was about to slit her left wrist when she heard the door opening and as she turned around, she slipped and hit her head on the floor. It hurt like hell but she wasn't unconscious.

"Casey! Casey! Where are you Case? I'm sorry I said that! I didn't mean it. I didn't know what I was saying. I'm just depressed. Please Case, forgive me" Derek said out of breath.

He ran to the kitchen and when he saw her there on the floor, with tears pouring down her face and a knife lying next to her, he started to cry. He grabbed the knife and threw it in the trash and then he helped Casey to sit up and held her.

"Don't ever do that again," he told her.

He saw the paper which was on the table and picked it up. As he read it, he started to cry harder.

He hugged her and held her close.

"Case, losing my family was bad. It damaged me. If I lost you, it would _kill_ me," he told her.

"Kill you? How? You wished me out of your life," she replied.

"I can't lose you; not now and not ever. I can't believe I put you so close. Casey, I've fallen in love with you." he told her. Her eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yes, really," he replied.

He kissed her on the forehead, and then they stared at each other. His fingers brushed her left cheek.

"But you're my step-brother," she told him.

"We're not blood-related Case," he replied, "And now the marriage isn't so…true anymore."

"Well, I guess you're right."

Her deep blue eyes stared at his chocolate brown eyes. Every movement of the iris, every flutter, every blink, every motion – she saw it all. She saw a sparkle in his eyes and he saw starlight in hers. Through all the sadness, they were still able to feel the light when they were near each other.

He planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm so glad you broke up with Max a couple of weeks ago."

"I'm glad I did that too. But Derek, dating is the last thing I have on my mind right now," she told him.

"Sweetie, we don't have to date. We live together, remember?"

She smiled softly and then they went upstairs to his room to talk. She told him about her feelings. She told him about how depressed she had been feeling lately and he told her how frustrated he was and how sad as well. They went to check if Marti was still asleep and she was. She looked just like a little angel.

"She looks just like a little angel, doesn't she?" Casey asked.

"It will be as if she's _our_ little angel Case. That makes her even more beautiful to look at," he told her.

He kissed Casey on top of her head.

It had been a long night and they felt tired so it wasn't long before they parted and went to each room to sleep.

Casey wondered if this was a dream, but it sure as hell wasn't.


	4. Ready or Not?

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**Chapter 4 **

_What's wrong with me?_ Casey asked herself. She couldn't stop thinking about Derek and for some crazy reason she felt bad about this. She felt as if she should have never told him about her feelings. She didn't want a relationship right now. She just needed to move on from her loss, and that would be taking a long time. She had to talk to him, but she knew that she didn't want to lose him. She didn't want that. She wanted to be with him. All of a sudden everything had changed. He had become the only one who could comfort her. Ever since that detention, something had definitely changed between them and after the accident, they had grown closer.

All they had now was each other, and it was all they would have for a long time. They had friends, but nobody could understand them the way they understood each other. After all, they were going through the same rough patch. Casey started to cry as she remembered the last hug she had given her mother, her sister, George and Ed. Now three of them were gone and Edwin was in his own world.

She heard her IM giving her an alert, so she got off her bed and checked out who it was.

_Kingofhockey: Good morning princess. How are you feeling?_

_IndependentGirl: Good morning Derek. Depressed. You?_

_Kingofhockey: So and so. _

_IndependentGirl: I think we need to talk. _

_Kingofhockey: Tell me._

_IndependentGirl: I don't feel right about us. _

_Kingofhockey: I found myself thinking that we still have to get over our family in order to start thinking about relationships, but we have to live with what comes. _

_IndependentGirl: Somehow, I feel the same. But I'm afraid that you wouldn't wait for me if we took time to move on. I don't think I'm ready for a relationship. _

_Kingofhockey: I never was ready for a relationship. You know me. But I'll wait for you Case. I'll wait until you're ready. I'm ready whenever you are. So do you want breakfast?_

_IndependentGirl: I'm not hungry. : ( Go make something for Marti. _

_Kingofhockey: Gotcha. _

With that he signed off.

Casey looked at her computer and opened the photo files. There were so many pictures of her with her family. She missed her mum and Lizzie so much. How could this happen to her?

Had she done something wrong? Or was this the way it was meant to be? Life had never been easy, but it had never been that hard. Casey knew that some day or another she had to return to school. She had been missing on way too much work. She sent a text message to Emily and asked her to come over after school and to bring her all the work she had missed ever since Monday. Although Casey was still mourning, she couldn't leave her work behind. She knew she had to be responsible. Unlike Derek who preferred to be laid back. But she had to cut him some slack; he was being really sweet and he had seemed to change quite a bit ever since the accident happened. Perhaps he would regain his cocky attitude and his smirk later on much to her disgust. But much to her surprise she somehow wished to see that smirk again. She missed his pranks, and she missed fighting with him and shouting at him.

When Derek came up to her room, she told him about her text message to Emily.

"Casey," he said, "Too much work won't do you any good. Do you know how stressed you are?"

"Do you know what I miss?" she asked, "I miss fighting with you. I miss your pranks. I miss your smirk and you being a jerk. I didn't like that attitude but I wish things would go back to normal. I wish I could barge in here and find Lizzie and Edwin watching TV and ask them where you are so I can come and throw something at your head. Then I wish we would get in trouble with mum and George for it and get some funny comment from Marti. We could all be a family again."

"I miss that too. Sometimes I wish I could see you getting all worked up over nothing and throwing something at me, saying something hurtful or getting me into trouble."

Casey smiled a soft broken smile at him.

Derek left to go chatting online so that he would distract himself. Casey decided to study for a while but every few pages or so, the image of the car wreck would fill her brain and a tear would make its way out of her eyes. She couldn't wait until Emily came over. When she answered the door that afternoon, she found Derek and Marti in the living room playing with some of Marti's toys. Emily gave her two heavy paper bags and a hug. Casey thanked her and promised to have her things ready in a couple of days.

The moment Casey got to her room, she took out the things. One of the paper bags had the books she needed which had been in her locker, and the other bag consisted of Emily's notes, class work, homework and assignment titles. Emily had finished their science project and Casey had received full credit for it. Casey started to copy down all of the notes she had missed. There were quite a lot of notes and she head to reread them twice over to make sure she understood everything. Although she was distracted by her grief, she still understood Emily's notes. It was about one a.m. when she finished all of the homework and class work that Em had given her. She only had the assignments to do but she really didn't feel like it.

Derek walked into her room.

"Case, why are you still up?" he asked.

"I was catching up on all the work I've missed. Listen, did you give Marti any dinner?" she asked.

"Yes, I made her some Mac and cheese earlier this evening. I didn't want to bother you since you told me not to come to your room for any reason, but you've just got to eat something. You haven't touched any food today," he told her.

"I'm not that hungry. Maybe I'll just make myself a sandwich," she replied.

"A sandwich?"

"Yeah," she told him, "Want one?"

"Sure," he replied, "I'm always hungry after all."

"At last. Something that's _not_ out of the ordinary."

They sent Marti to school the following morning and they went to school themselves. Derek hadn't caught up on any work that he had missed but the teachers understood. Casey went to Paul's office as usual but this time she didn't complain about Derek. Paul had heard about the accident and he felt sorry for both Casey and Derek. Casey usually told him everything but she didn't want to tell him about her and Derek's sudden realisation of feelings for each other. She just felt it wouldn't be right.

Casey didn't enjoy the fact that people kept reminding her of how sorry they were. She appreciated the fact that they felt sorry, but she hated being pitied like that when all she wanted to do was to get over the accident. Derek was frustrated every time somebody mentioned the accident and his 'poor brother'. Emily and Casey stayed at the back of the cafeteria so that people wouldn't bother them that much.

Casey couldn't tell Emily about the feelings that she and Derek felt for each other for two reasons. The first one was because she felt that she was betraying their safe privacy and the second one was because Emily might think that this was the reason Casey didn't want her and Derek to go out together all along. Sheldon joined them later during lunch and Emily gave him a warning look as if to tell him not to say anything inappropriate to Casey as he was know for saying inappropriate things at inappropriate times.

Derek and Casey locked eyes with each other and Casey knew. She knew that she was ready for a relationship. She just needed to move on now. She needed to make peace with the past – with the death of the two people who meant most to her. She just had to keep their memory alive.


	5. Marti

Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You can't expect yourself to move on so quickly," Derek told her, "This is a huge loss for both of us, and it's going to take a long time to heal. It might never heal totally. But at least we've got to try. We've got to move on with our lives."

"I know Derek," she told him, "But the house just feels so empty without them."

"I know it does," he told her, "It feels really empty. I really miss Ed and Lizzie snooping around and dad and Nora acting all goofy."

"What time are we visiting Ed today?" Casey asked.

"After we finish our homework. Listen, I don't think we should take Marti, because I don't want her to remember him like that if something happens."

"You're right. We should shield her from that vision. She's too young after all. But Derek, I feel we're not spending as much time as we should with her. We're too caught up in our school and personal life and we need to give more time to Marti."

"I know," he told her, "But she seems so locked up inside herself."

"Yeah, well we have to help her open up. We should take her out next weekend."

"Great idea," Derek replied.

Casey had already finished her homework and so she sent Derek to his room to finish his and went to Marti's room to talk to her for a while.

"Hello Marti, what are you doing?" Casey asked.

"I'm playing with Sir Monks-a-lot," Marti told her.

"That's nice! What are you playing?"

"We're talking about our favourite colours."

"Yours is blue right?" Casey asked.

"It's blue yes. And what's yours Casey?"

"Hmm…would have to be pink or purple," Casey told her.

"Those are nice too," Marti said as she smiled at her.

Casey tickled her and that got her eyes to brighten up and then she took her downstairs and they watched TV together until Derek got ready to go to the hospital. Emily came over as she had done every evening to watch Marti.

"Thanks for being such a sweetie with Marti, Em. I really appreciate it."

"I know you need it Case, don't worry about it. I can even cancel my weekend plans with Sheldon if you need me to. I'm always here for you. We're best friends, remember?"

"You don't have to Em. We're taking Marti out this weekend, to try to get her to open up a bit and be happy," Casey replied.

"That would be great for her. She's not half as depressed as you or Derek, but for her age she's quite sad. And I don't blame her at all," Emily told Casey. Casey hugged Emily and took her jacket to go to hospital with Derek.

During the drive, they discussed plans to give Marti an enjoyable weekend. They agreed to take her to the movies and out to any restaurant she wanted to on Saturday, and to the zoo and the park on Sunday. They agreed that they needed to spend much more time with her on weekdays and so they decided that they had to cut their visits to the hospital in half. They knew that they should visit Edwin day in and day out – they couldn't lose Marti too. If they left her alone, she would drift away from them and they didn't want that to happen. Edwin had still shown no signs of improvement.

On Saturday morning, Casey took Marti with her to the mall to buy her some toys and games. They spent all morning there so that Derek could concentrate on his school work. He really had a lot of catching up to do. Casey couldn't believe that it had been a week since the accident. Marti was slowly regaining the sparkle in her eyes. Casey had spent a lot of time with her the previous two evenings and that had helped Marti not to feel alone.

Derek had called his coach and asked to skip practice so that he could catch up with his school work and the coach had been very understanding. Derek had never worked so hard in his whole life and he did everything he could to cram in as much work as he could. All he had left when Casey and Marti arrived home was an assignment and he could do that on a weekday.

Marti chose an animated movie that evening and they watched it with her. Then she wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese's to eat. They even allowed her to go play inside the inflatable castle with the other children. It seemed to keep her mind off things and the moment they arrived home Marti was still shining with happiness.

"Casey, Smerek, can I sleep with you tonight?" Marti asked.

"Of course you can sleep with me Smarti," Derek said.

"I want Casey too," Marti replied.

"Do you have any objection?" Derek asked Casey.

"None at all," she replied.

They all changed into their pyjamas and soon snuggled up in Derek's bed with Derek at the far end, Casey in the middle and Marti against the wall. Marti soon fell asleep and Derek started to stroke Casey's hair.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear.

"Me too," she replied, "and I'm ready for a relationship."

Who knew that it had to be Marti to bring them together?


	6. The Second Fight

Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

Derek woke up with his arms around Casey the next morning. He couldn't believe that the step-sister he couldn't stand was now in his arms. He wanted to stay like this forever.

"Good morning," she said as she turned around to look at him. He was staring at her.

"Good morning," he replied, "Do you feel any better?"

"I feel just a bit better after yesterday, but I'm still a bit depressed."

"Well, so am I," he told her.

Marti was still asleep, so they got out of Derek's bed. Casey went to shower and Derek went to make some pancakes as these were Marti's favourite breakfast.

Casey felt warm and good in the shower. It was a cold day so it felt good underneath the hot water. She got out of the shower smelling of roses and wore a nice pair of dark blue jeans, a pink long-sleeved top and a pink cashmere sweater on top of it. After drying her hair, she put on some lip gloss and mascara and went downstairs to eat her breakfast. It wasn't long before Marti came running down the stairs to the smell of pancakes. Derek had already covered her pancakes in chocolate syrup and she couldn't wait until she could eat them all up. Marti was indeed feeling much better than she had been feeling the previous week.

After breakfast, Casey watched TV while Derek showered and Marti had a bath. They soon left to drive to the zoo and as soon as they arrived Marti couldn't wait to see the animals. They definitely distracted her from her losses and both Casey and Derek felt awesome knowing she was feeling so happy. They spent three and a half hours at the zoo and they went to every single cage and took pictures with Derek's digital camera. Derek even bought Marti a stuffed elephant and a stuffed tiger.

They ate lunch at McDonald's and then they went to the park where Marti went to feed the ducks. Derek and Casey sat down on a bench watching her. Derek covered Casey's hand with his.

"I love you," he told her.

"But I don't understand. We couldn't stand each other up until last week. How come all of these strong feelings have come out all of a sudden?" she asked him.

"I think that maybe we always had these feelings for each other deep down but we never knew it since we were too busy fighting over power. I mean, I hated seeing you with Max. Sam's my best friend so I never resented him, but _Max. _I couldn't stand him. I felt he was always trying to make himself out as the good guy."

"Well, I hated to see you with Kendra, and with Sally," Casey told him, "I mean, I can stand Sally and she's really nice, but seeing you with her made me feel sort of uneasy. I guess now I understand why."

"I hope we don't break up Case. I want to stay this way forever," he told her.

"Me too," she replied, "Let's not worry about breaking up. It's only the beginning."

When they arrived home, Marti was ecstatic after such a weekend and she felt very tired. She watched TV until seven and then she changed and Derek went upstairs to tuck her in. After closing Marti's bedroom door, he went downstairs to join Casey in the kitchen. She was making coffee.

"Today's the first day you didn't wear black," he told her.

"Yeah, I figured that it was old-fashioned to wear black. I mean, it's the emotions that count," she replied.

"You've got awesome views. I only wore black to the funeral," he told her.

She got their cups of coffee and they caressed each other's hands while they drank.

Casey and Derek told Emily, Sam and Ralph that they were a couple about a month later. They still hadn't moved on from their loss, but they were feeling much better. Marti was back to her usual self even though she was sometimes very quiet when she looked at photographs of Lizzie, Edwin, Nora and George or of the whole family as it used to be together.

Emily, Sam and Ralph couldn't believe their ears when Derek and Casey told them. They had never expected something so out of this world to happen. These two could never stand each other. Only Sheldon said that he had always known it. For once, he said something appropriate.

"I mean, come on," he said at the lunch table, "Did you never see the way they fought over everything? There was always the spark."

Then he said something which was totally inappropriate, keeping to his nature, "It's like when Em and I fight. Right Em?"

"Sheldon, that's personal. You don't go blabbing about our fights to everyone!"

Sheldon blushed and Casey told Emily that it was nothing out of the ordinary and that it wasn't _that_ inappropriate to mention arguments. Emily apologized to Sheldon for snapping at him and he said it was okay.

The news of the step-siblings' relationship traveled around the school quickly. Some said that it was because of the grief that they had changed so much and become closer, while others said that there had always been something but they had covered it up with their fights. People who were correct assumed that there had always been some spark but neither Casey nor Derek had seen it before they really needed each other.

Casey and Derek were handling things well. They were _both_ keeping up with their school work (yes even Derek), they were visiting Edwin frequently, and they were devoting enough time to Marti as well. They talked to each other at night which was the only time they had free.

It was at night when they had their first fight ever since the hospital incident.

"What do you mean you were talking to Max on the phone?!" he asked her.

"He called to check whether I was doing fine. That's all!"

"Whether you were doing fine?! It's been over for more than a month and a half now! He knows about us. Why did he do that?"

"There's nothing wrong with people calling to check up on us!"

"Well would you like it if Kendra or _Sally_ called me?!" he asked her with an irritated tone.

Casey remained silent.

"I thought so. That's why I told them to stop contacting me. Because I respect you. But I don't deserve any respect right?!"

"Look, I respect you more than anything. You know that Derek!"

"You didn't prove that today. You chatted along with Max, as if you and him were still okay with each other, as if I didn't exist."

"I thought you wouldn't mind. I mean, he's called me at home before."

"Yeah, but now that you're not single anymore, he shouldn't call you. He should only talk to you at school or maybe not at all!"

"I can't accept that. It's not the middle ages."

"Well I can't accept _this_. Maybe it's better if we were through!"

And with that, Derek stormed off to his room, leaving Casey on the couch as tears rolled down her cheeks.


	7. Feelings

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Casey couldn't believe that Derek had left her. She had known that they were rushing things. She had known that you just couldn't go from barely standing each other to being madly in love. There had to be a friendship first. But they had rushed things and it served them right. But she needed him. She had felt a sort of feeling for him for quite some time but she had brushed it off as anger instead of passion.

Derek couldn't believe he had said that to Casey. But now he couldn't go back and apologise. It just wasn't Derek-y. He had to just shut up and live with it. He had loved Casey for a long time, but he had tried to conceal it with his fighting. He hadn't even told Casey about this for fear that she would laugh at him. But the truth was he had always found her attractive and of great character. He hadn't meant to hurt her during their argument, but he couldn't believe that she had talked to Max as if she were talking to Emily. To makes matters worse she hadn't mentioned Derek once. Was she ashamed of showing that she was going out with him?

They each spent time with Marti every day that week but they did it separately. Casey and Emily started to stay away from Derek's group of friends. Sheldon wasn't going to their school anymore because the time to move away with his family had come. Emily had decided to give a long-distance relationship a shot. She had really fallen in love with Sheldon despite his stupidity.

Visiting Edwin was done in turns. Casey had started going by bus and she even went to school by bus or on foot. She couldn't bear to be in the same car or room with Derek. It just set her crying. No matter how much they had rushed things, she had fallen for him quickly. It wasn't the way she had fallen for Max or for Sam – it was much quicker. There had been no awkward silly crush; it had been a strong _like_ very close to love from the very beginning.

She couldn't let this ruin her. She had to focus on studying and on giving attention to Marti. Casey started to work harder on her assignments. She let nothing and nobody disturb her. The weeks started rolling by. Derek was also improving on his work. He had started to cut himself off from the usual social groups he had been in. He was only hanging out with Sam and Ralph and he had become quiet, cut off in his own world. Ever since he had broken Casey's heart, he had broken his own as well. He had become just like Casey – locked away in his room studying or else with Marti or Edwin.

Sheldon had left and Casey started to spend more time with Emily. After a while, Emily told her that she was finding it hard to handle a long-distance relationship but that she couldn't bear to leave Sheldon. Casey opened up to Emily and told her that she still felt sadness daily because of her mother and her sister's death. Emily suggested that Casey should go stay for a couple of weeks with her father in New York that summer, to get away from her house and from Derek, but Casey said that she didn't want to and that although she loved her father she couldn't bear his lifestyle.

Dennis and Abby had kept their promise and they had been visiting them every fortnight. They hadn't noticed that Derek and Casey were barely looking at each other. After the parents realised that things were going well in the household, they started to cut their visits and went to visit less frequently.

Derek couldn't bear to be away from Casey any longer. He wanted to at least be friends. Yeah, he wanted more than being friends, but he couldn't bear being so far away from her. He couldn't bear not being able to drive her to school or to talk or at least fight with her.

He got some courage one Friday afternoon. He was in his room when he started planning what to say. He started to think aloud.

"Case, look I'm sorry. No that won't do. Um…" he said, "Casey, I can't be away from you any longer. Could we at least be friends?"

He slammed his fist on the desk and groaned.

"Casey, I want you more than anything else in the world. Please please please forgive me."

NO WAY. He could _not_ beg. He was _the_ Derek Venturi. But then again it was _Casey_. He'd do anything for _Casey._

How had he turned into this freak? He had been so cool before. But now was not before. Everything had changed. _He_ had changed. He went to Marti's room to forget about things for a while and he played for a while with her.

Meanwhile, Casey was sitting on the couch pretending to watch TV while thinking about Derek. How could he have hypnotized her so much? Had she really been so in love with him? After they had broken up she had thought that it could have perhaps been infatuation but now she knew that it wasn't. She was still head over heels in love with him, and she wished she could make it work, but she knew that even if she apologised, he wouldn't accept and would just reject her.

At about seven, she felt someone looking at her and turned around to see Derek looking as if he was going to fight a lion.

"Listen, Casey," he said, "I-uh-know I was a jerk and I'm s-sorry. I still l-lo-"he was cut off at that as the phone rang. Casey picked it up.

"Hello. This is the Venturi-McDonald household."

"Ma'am this is the Children's Hospital …"

**Ok, thanks for everyone who's reviewing. Listen once I get 12 reviews on this chapter, I'll upload Chapter 8 I promise. : ) Thanks for your support people. This is my first fanfic so I really appreciate the positive feedback. **


	8. Edwin

Chapter 8

**Sorry I didn't keep to my review requirements but I couldn't resist not uploading xD **

**Hope u enjoy **

**Chapter 8**

They didn't even bother to change their clothes. Derek grabbed the keys to the Prince and they rushed out of the house, without even telling Marti that they were leaving. Derek started the car, reversed out of the driveway and started driving as fast as he could.

Casey called Emily and asked her to check on Marti every once in a while. Emily knew where they kept a spare key so that wouldn't be a problem. Emily asked her what was wrong but Casey promised to tell her later.

Derek was extremely nervous. It was just his luck to have to stop at every darn traffic light. He knew he was exceeding the speed limit. Casey didn't bother to tell him to slow down; she too wanted to arrive as soon as possible. Her heart was beating faster than ever. Tears were crawling down her cheeks, but she had become used to that. She could feel her red eyes becoming redder and puffier and she could feel her breathing becoming more frequent and shallow.

Derek's hand found hers and he squeezed it. Derek was the least of her worries right at that moment, and she couldn't find the voice to tell him all that she had wanted to tell him for a very long time. She couldn't voice her apology or her feelings. She had to settle with caressing his hand. This wasn't time for romance but it was time for comfort. They both needed comfort. Another tragedy was headed their way.

As soon as they arrived in the hospital parking lot, Derek parked in the first slot he found, locked the Prince and ran off with Casey through the front doors of the children's hospital. Running up to Edwin's room, the world seemed to move in slow motion around them.

When they arrived, he was in a terrible state. There were a couple of doctors and about four nurses around him. One of the doctors walked up to Casey and Derek.

"Mr. and Mrs. Venturi," he said.

They didn't bother to correct him. All they needed right now was to hear about Edwin's condition.

"I'm sorry, but one kidney has already failed and he's losing his pulse. We're doing all we can to keep him alive but the life support isn't affecting him anymore. I think you'd better say your goodbyes. There is still a slight chance that he might survive, but unfortunately those chances are slim to none."

Derek joined Casey in her crying and they made their way to Edwin's bed and both held his hand.

"Please stay alive Edwin," Derek started telling him, "Please Ed. I love you Edwin."

"I love you too Ed," Casey added, "Please stay here with us. We need you with us. We can't lose you too."

At eleven, all the doctors and nurses left the room. They told them that it was no use and that if he were to survive he could only do that by natural methods as no medical procedures would help him.

Derek asked whether Edwin needed a transplant of some kind but the doctor told him that nothing medical could help Edwin.

"Ed, stay," Derek said, "Please. I know you can hear me. Just stay with us. We love you. Marti loves you too."

"And Lizzie loved you so much! And mum and your dad," Casey told him , "You're special to so many people."

Derek looked at the clock. It read 00.02.

"Edwin, I know you can hear me so listen to me. Stay with us. Don't leave us. Please don't die," Derek said as tears rolled down his cheeks, "I know you can hear me."

But Derek was wrong. Edwin couldn't hear him, because at the stroke of midnight, Edwin was already dead.


	9. Hello Again

Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

Derek and Casey held each other throughout the night. They couldn't believe this. Edwin had died. They had lost him. How could this happen? They didn't even feel the tiniest bit of happiness for being friends again. All they cared about now was the loss of another family member.

Not a word was said between them. The drive home was silent, except for Casey's sobs. Derek was crying silently as well. All he could think about was his little brother. He didn't even pay attention to the road. That's why they almost got in a head on crash with another car. Lucky for them, Derek swerved just in time to avoid the crash. When they arrived home, Casey found Emily watching TV and waiting for them. When she saw them both crying, Emily hugged them and cried along with them. She had known Edwin and this was emotional for her as well.

It was already five a.m. and Emily had stayed up just so she could be there for Casey and Derek. Sometimes you found out who your real friends were at the times where you felt most terrible.

Emily left to go home to catch some sleep. It was Saturday so she could sleep in. Derek and Casey sat down at the dinner table and looked at each other. He caressed her hand.

"I can't believe we lost Edwin too," he told her.

"He's so young. Why did this happen?" she asked.

"I wish I knew," he replied.

Monday brought the funeral. Everyone was sorry for Casey, Derek and Marti. They had lost so many people in such a short period of time. Abby was heartbroken. Marti couldn't stop crying. She had moved on from her loss but now she had gone back to square one.

The evening after the funeral, Casey, Derek and Marti were sitting on the couch. Derek asked Marti to go up to her room and she did.

"Case," he started, "when the phone called last Friday, I was about to say I was sorry for being a jerk and that I still love you, but if you don't want me we could at least be friends, right?"

"No Derek. I don't want to be friends. I love you too. And I'm sorry for not telling him off."

"Can you be my girlfriend again?" He asked her.

"I want to give it another try," she replied.

He planted a kiss on her lips and she kissed him back.

"I missed you," he told her.

"I missed you too. I can't be without you any longer."

"You know what Casey McDonald? You turned me into a romantic!!"

"Yes Derek Venturi, I know."

She smiled at him and he looked into her eyes.

"I wish Edwin was here," she said, "He'd probably be taking a video to blackmail us later."

"I wish he was here too, but I guess he's in a better place now, with the rest of them."

"I guess so," she replied.

Casey went up to her room and wrote poetry that night.

She wrote her true feelings, and took it out on the paper.

It was a beautiful poem dedicated to her lost family.

_On the fateful morning of a Saturday, _

_Which brought an officer to Derek and I, _

_We learned the news which would break us,_

_The news which would make us cry,_

_A truck driver, recklessness triumphed, _

_And took away three people from me, _

_Mum, and George, and Lizzie, _

_Was this the way it's meant to be?_

_Marti's broken, and so are me and Derek, _

_Our friends help us, but they won't bring you back,_

_Even though I'm keeping up with my school work,_

_I have become a nervous wreck, _

_Mum I miss you; I wish I could see you, _

_Derek loved you as much as I did, _

_He just had too much of an attitude, _

_So made sure that his feelings he hid,_

_And George your son loved you so much,_

_And me and Marti as well, _

_It's difficult to be here without you, _

_In a house without your presence to dwell,_

_And Lizzie, oh Liz how I love you, _

_Your death simply broke our three hearts,_

_You were my best friend__ and my sister, _

_And that love never parts, _

_And tonight, something terrible happened, _

_On the phone, terrible news was said, _

_For our stepbrother had been in a coma,_

_And now, our dear Edwin is dead. _

_I love you all, Derek loves you all and Marti loves you all. We miss you. _

**The last few chapters will be uploaded after I get some reviews. **


	10. Senior Prom Night

Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

Casey and Derek fought almost every week, but they always made up. They couldn't be without each other. They went to their senior prom together.

Prom night was the best night of Casey's life. She had been planning it for two years. Her senior prom was bound to be the greatest night ever and Derek knew this. She had bought a wonderful dress for the evening. It was a long light pink dress which was strapless. It started around her chest and it was tight until her waist, just like a corset and then it opened up a little and ended up trailing a bit behind her as she walked. There was a purple criss-cross on the top tight half of her dress which made it seem like a corset. Casey wore purple gloves to match which made the whole outfit very classy. She had also bought a cute pink clutch purse and the cutest pink high heels. Her jewellery had also been planned out. She wore a wonderful set of white gold earrings, necklace and a bracelet which Derek had bought her for her eighteenth birthday. Her nails were painted a light pink so that when she took off her gloves, they would match, and her make-up was soft and light. Her hair was left to hang down in soft curls with half of it being pulled up by a light pink hair clip.

Derek was amazed when she walked down the stairs. She looked beautiful. Casey was amazed too when she looked at Derek. He was wearing a black tux, a white shirt, a bow tie, and black polished shoes. His hair was gelled neatly and was still cool and he was wearing a wonderful bracelet which Casey had bought him. They took a photograph together and then walked out to their awaiting limo.

They danced throughout the night and it felt like they had never been so close. Sheldon and Emily had broken up and Emily was now dating Ralph (I know – oh my God). Sam was currently single but Sally was his date for the evening. The three couples were dancing near each other and when Kendra announced that she would be reading the names of the prom king and queen, they all stood eagerly waiting. Many people had placed bets on who would win and a lot of people had won their bets.

"I am proud to announce that this year's Senior Prom King and Prom Queen are Derek Venturi and Casey McDonald."

Derek and Casey couldn't believe it. This was _Senior_ Prom. They went up on stage to wear their prom king and queen crowns and they kissed on stage in front of everybody. As they went to have their king and queen dance in the middle of the floor, they started to have a conversation. The song they were dancing to was Heaven by Bryan Adams.

"I love you Casey. I have never been so happy in my life."

"I love you too Derek, with all of my heart. Who would have told me when mum married George that I would be dancing with his stepson in two years' time? I never knew I could be so lucky," she replied with tears in her eyes.

"I am the luckiest man in the world, Casey McDonald, and I want to show you that I want to spend every single day and night of my life with you." He knelt down and opened a velvet box to reveal the only piece of jewellery she had missing – a ring. It was beautiful. It was made of white gold and had a solitaire diamond on top.

"Let's get married Case. Be my wife, become Casey Venturi," he told her.

"Yes Derek, I want to become Casey Venturi…right now."

He placed the rock on her left ring finger and he kissed her on her lips.

Everybody was clapping around them. They didn't wait for the prom to finish. Emily, Ralph and Sam soon joined them in their limo and they were off, first to buy two white gold wedding rings and then to the nearest chapel. The minister there was almost closing up when they asked him to marry them without a ceremony.

"I, Derek Venturi, take you Casey McDonald to be my lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold through good and bad, in sickness and in health until death do us part. I love you and I give you this ring as a symbol of my undying love."

"I, Casey McDonald, take you Derek Venturi to be my lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, through good and bad, in sickness and in health until death do us part. I love you and I give you this ring as a symbol of my undying love."

"You may now kiss the bride. I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Derek Venturi, husband and wife."

"You're all I need now Mr. Venturi," she told him.

"And _you_ are all _I_ need now, Mrs. Venturi," he replied.

And they were married, forever and ever…right?


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Wrong. For once in their lives ever since their parents' accident, Casey and Derek had received something which would never go wrong. They were happy. Casey was proud to be called Casey Venturi and Derek was proud of that as well. After finishing college, they both started a career. Marti was now thirteen years old.

Casey discovered that she was pregnant a few months after starting to work as a teacher of literature.

"Derek," she said, "You're going to become a father. We're having a baby."

He had jumped with joy and hugged her hard. They went to all of their appointments as scheduled and they asked not to know the gender of their baby.

"If it's a girl, I want to call her Elizabeth Nora Venturi and if it's a boy I want to call him Edwin George Venturi," Casey told him one evening.

"I promise we'll call him or her that," Derek told her.

Casey left work on maternity leave so that there wouldn't be any complications due to too much work.

They both believed that they had forever and things in their relationship had never been going better for them. Nine months passed by and Derek drove a very nervous Casey to hospital.

Derek held her hand throughout the birth. A very nervous doctor looked Derek in the eyes.

"Mr. Venturi, we're having complications."

"Do I need to sign? If I have to choose, it'll be Casey who'll be saved ok doc?"

"There is no choice," the doctor told him.

Casey looked into Derek's eyes, "I love you so much Derek."

"I love you too my dear sweet Casey. Don't leave me. Stay here with me. I love you so much. You're my world, and my everything."

Casey smiled a soft smile at him and then he looked at her in the eyes, felt her hand go limp and saw the life coming out of her.

Derek cried hard. They handed him a very beautiful baby girl who looked just like her mother. She had inherited George and Casey's blue eyes.

"I'm going to love you as much as I love your mother," he said.

--

And today, I Casey Elizabeth Nora Venturi am writing the story of my parents; how they couldn't stand each other, how they fell in love, and how my father is still devoted to my mum. I am sixteen years old. Dad is forty and Mum would have been forty too but I've never met her. I spend a lot of time with Aunt Marti and with my dad.

This story is dedicated to Casey Venturi, a loving mother and a loving wife. My dad Derek loves you mum and I love you too.

--

They thought they had forever, but forever came when they were only twenty-three. Sometimes, when I see my father swallowing pills to overcome his depression I wish I'd never been born.

He promised her he would be hers forever, and that promise was never broken. Dad is sick. He's slowly dying but now he says that he's happier than ever because he will soon join his Casey in heaven where they can be married for eternity, just as they had dreamed, just as they had envisioned.

Casey and Derek Venturi – they'll be the happiest couple in Heaven, just as they were when they were teenagers. Only this time, they have all of eternity together.

**I hope you liked this fanfic. I know it's a bit sad and all but I wanted it to be a bit different.**


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